Just this past week my family and I visited Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. What a beautiful State Wyoming is in both Summer and Winter, but from experience the winters there are brutal to say the least. 

Back when I was younger, for several years I worked as a contractor on F.E. Warren Air Force Base. So I was very familiar with the area and my favorite thing was the people because they are so much like us here in Louisiana. Don’t get me wrong though, even though I remember the winters being brutal the mountains are beautiful, the ice cold creeks running are crystal clear and the free roaming wildlife are majestic. But when we were complete with the job, as beautiful as it all is, I was so glad to roll back into Vernon Parish. 

Just like Wyoming, only certain parts of Louisiana seem to bring tourists in and like myself a lot of us local people haven’t even visited all of what our State has to offer. Truthfully I can only vouch for myself but there are beautiful places in Louisiana that I have not visited. 

Most importantly I live here because I choose to be involved and I do want it to be better and I will not  be leaving anytime soon because I refuse to give up. Honestly the traffic here is bad enough for me but I also love the fact that when I drive through town I’m going to see someone I know or at least recognize and that just makes it home. 

Yes the mountains are beautiful but they won’t grow grass. The snow is pretty but not for six month intervals. The creeks are pretty but ours produce more fish. And I’m good with our winters being four weeks instead of six months like Wyoming gets. It’s amazing to me how we get to choose the climate we live in without leaving the lower 48 but some people stay in the same place their entire lives and complain about the weather and the people when there’s so much opportunity to be happy. 

The old saying goes you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink and as always my favorite saying is those that complain the most do the least to make where they live better. If you focus on the good things in your community they will grow and if you are looking for the bad you will find it every day.

Coming back being stuck in grid lock traffic in the Dallas area was not how I wanted to spend my time, but I was one of the few out of thousands of cars that was sitting in the shade under the overpass. The good is there but sometimes you have to look a little harder to find it. 

You will find when you look around there are a lot of folks worse off than you. Be thankful Be kind and Be blessed.

Loving Vernon Parish,

Your Mayor,

Rick Allen